


Prompt# 1: "Pull over. Let me drive for a while."

by Xylianna



Series: Xy's 100 Ways Challenge [20]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, gladio feels the feels, so do his friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-16 17:49:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16499930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xylianna/pseuds/Xylianna
Summary: Ten years after the Dawn, Gladio and his friends tour Lucis.





	Prompt# 1: "Pull over. Let me drive for a while."

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by an ask I rec'd from @doctorcanon on Tumblr that stated: "Gladio, Ignis and Prompto all go on another roadtrip 10 years after the The Dawn to see what progress the world has made." Rather than writing head canons, this drabble idea popped in my head.

Driving down the long and winding road, it was easy to pretend - if only for a moment - that this was a much different road trip from long years past. The same countryside flew by the windows. The same havens. The same little towns. Well, no. That wasn’t strictly true. Some of those small settlements had been destroyed during the Long Dark, and others had grown and flourished during the decade of peace since the Dawn.

Gladio sighed, hands tightening on the steering wheel as he struggled to keep his face placid, his amber gaze studiously focused on the road. He didn’t want to look at Ignis, sitting up so straight and proper in the passenger seat, staring out the window with sightless eyes. Nor did he wish to meet Prompto’s violet-blue visage in the rear-view mirror, the once effervescent photographer mellowed by age, his camera safe in its bag for now. 

“How you doing, big guy?” Prompto’s voice, rife with compassion and caring, caused the first tear to escape Gladio’s tenuous control.

When Gladio didn’t immediately answer, he felt Ignis’s gloved hand lay on his knee, squeezing gently before retreating. While he appreciated his friend’s silent show of support, he inwardly cursed him for it as more tears trickled down the weathered planes of his face.

“Gladio? Pull over. Let me drive for a while,” Prompto said, reaching forward to clap a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been at it all morning. I’ll take the afternoon shift, yeah?”

Ignis cocked his head to the side as if making mental calculations. “Another hour should see us to Galdin Quay. Perhaps we should stop for the night before continuing our journey.”

“Good idea.” It was an unnecessary delay, but one they could all use before resuming their travels. Gladio took the next exit, the one that would lead them closer to the coast. He was grateful when the momentary burst of chatter faded into blessed silence, leaving him with only his thoughts for company. Focusing on the trees that had blossomed, branches stretching towards that sweet sunlight after so long without, helped Gladio to keep it together.

Galdin Quay had flourished during peacetime. No longer a resort at the end of a dock, it was a small village in and of itself with numerous fishing docks - one still holding the original Mother of Pearl restaurant - as well as shops and an entire hotel building rather than just one luxury suite.

And it was teeming with people, which made Gladio frown. There was a time large crowds gave him pause because it made it more challenging to protect his charge. That changed during the Darkness when crowds meant comparative safety from the daemons.

And now? He just wanted peace. 

After parking the car, they made their way down the rickety, original dock. Why eat anywhere else when Coctura was still creating her amazing dishes? The cacophony of the swarming patrons made Gladio’s head pound and he fervently hoped it might be quieter at the end of the pier, with most people choosing the more modern restaurants to this old haunt.

Gladio’s lips twisted in a fond smile when Ignis unerringly made his way to Coctura’s circular hostess stand. “Table for four, please.” Not a single quaver in that smooth baritone, and to Coctura’s credit, she didn’t so much as blink at the request.

This wasn’t the first time they’d made it. 

“Right this way,” she said with a gentle smile, gesturing to a server to lead them to their table.

Gladio brought up the rear, as was his custom in a presumed safe situation. He watched his friends choose their usual seats at their usual table, and as he seated himself, stared at the one left empty.

The waiter brought four glasses of water, and Gladio scoffed, taking the one from the empty place setting and pushing it aside. 

Their King wouldn’t drink that.

At least Gladio’s hopes had been realized; they were the only ones seated in this section. Aside from Prompto and Ignis’s light chatter, the only sounds were typical restaurant ambience and the roaring waves all around.

The waiter came back for them to order, and Gladio was glad he got his in first. He had to clench his jaw while Ignis ordered for Noctis, or he’d’ve lost control. Despite it now being crowded, he had no wish to do that in the public eye. No, he’d shed his tears later, with no one to see who numbered among the living.

It seemed like a mere blink of an eye and their food was brought out. Gladio made himself tuck in to his meal despite it tasting like ashes, dry and cloying on his tongue. Coctura was an amazing cook, but the power of mind over body was a true and damming thing at times. While forcing enough of the meal down to make his friends happy, Gladio stared at the plate across from him, containing fried fish and potatoes, a glass of cola beside it.

This time when the tears started, he just sighed and shifted his head, allowing his long hair to at least partially shield his face from any passers-by.

“Gladio, if you need…” Ignis trailed off, his scarred brow furrowed.

“We can catch up with you later,” Prompto said quietly, reaching out and clasping Gladio’s wrist for a brief squeeze.

Pushing up from his chair, Gladio nodded before turning and walking out on to the dock proper. He went down the stairs behind the restaurant, passed the bench where they used to meet Dino the reporter-jeweler, and stopped down at the end where they were meant to meet a ship many years ago.

_Fucking Altissia._ It had been the beginning of the end, the time when their road trip had changed over in tone, no longer able to maintain the facade they’d carefully constructed after the horrible news received upon their first visit to Galdin Quay.

Altissia had brought the death of the Oracle, the near death of Noctis, the loss of Ignis’s sight, and formed the fractures in their group dynamic that ultimately led to Gladio, Prompto, and Ignis going their separate ways after the Crystal consumed Noctis, despite the fact they’d had been stronger together.

It had been hard for Gladio to meet the eyes of the others charged with protecting Noctis. Every searing glance reminded him that he’d failed as a Shield.

He’d outlived his King.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Gladio stared at the rippling waves, painted crimson and gold by the setting sun. It had taken him a long time, but Gladio had come to terms with his failure. Noct wouldn’t have wanted him to dwell on it forever, he would have wanted Gladio to live, to find happiness, to find a new mission.

So Gladio had poured himself into Insomnia’s restoration. Once the city had been restored, he accepted the post of Captain of the Crownsguard, even though there was, strictly speaking, no crown to guard. They served as a police unit, though crime was blessedly low. It seemed that people had enough strife in the Dark to target each other now. Cor had reformed the Crownsguard, he told Gladio, because he was a cynic and knew that over time the people’s joy at the Dawn would fade and human nature would reassert itself.

He’d been right, of course. But…still. Keeping the peace among humans was nothing compared to slaying daemons in the countryside for a decade.

Gladio felt, rather than heard, his friends flank him. After several strained beats of silence, Gladio spoke, his voice rough and gravelly. 

“This would have been a good fishing spot.”

“Yeah,” Prompto agreed.

“We should get some rest,” Ignis suggested. “There’s a long road ahead of us tomorrow.”

“You two go,” Gladio said. “I’ll be up in a bit.”

When he was alone again, Gladio folded himself down to be sitting on the dock, watching as the warm russet tones faded away, keeping vigil as the moon graced the night sky with its presence, causing the water to gleam with its pearly opalescence. It made him think of Lunafreya, and Gladio wondered again if there was an afterlife, and if Noct and Luna were enjoying it together. Was his father there, his mother? Aulea, and Regis? Jared? Fuck, most the people Gladio had known.

Maybe he’d see them all again someday.

Rising smoothly to his feet, Gladio offered the glinting water a determined smile, because today was not that day.

He had a job to do.

Feeling more at peace than he had in months - his memories of Noctis a balm to his soul rather than a burr prickling his conscious with feelings of self-flagellation - Gladio strode down the dock to join his friends and catch some sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. <3


End file.
